Two years ago, Republicans won 13 out of 18 House seats in Pennsylvania. Dems hoped to make big gains.

Ed Mahon is a reporter for PA Post.
Previously, he was an investigative and political reporter at the York Daily Record/Sunday News, where his work revealed holes in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting victims of domestic violence.
He grew up in Delaware County, graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia and has lived in Pennsylvania most of his life.

As the Harrisburg reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania, Marie Cusick covers energy and environmental issues for public radio stations statewide. She’s also part of NPR’s energy and environment team, which coordinates coverage between the network and select member station reporters around the country. Her work frequently airs on NPR shows including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. Since 2012, Marie has closely followed the political, social, environmental, and economic effects of Pennsylvania’s natural gas boom. Her work has been recognized at the regional and national levels– honors include a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists and a national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association. Previously, Marie was a multimedia reporter for WMHT in Albany, New York and covered technology for the station’s statewide public affairs TV show, New York NOW. In 2018, she became StateImpact’s first FAA-licensed drone pilot.

Inside a northern York County restaurant called Boomerang, Bill Gramlich watched the election returns and felt stressed.

At one point, the crowd cheered — and he thought that meant the race had been called in favor of his candidate.

Gramlich, a 54-year-old construction contractor, described himself as a conservative. He supported U.S. Rep Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional district, which remained close as the night went on Tuesday evening.

“I thought that central Pennsylvania would maybe be a little more conservative than I’m seeing,” Gramlich said. “But I guess everybody has their own issues.”

Two years ago, Pennsylvania Republicans enjoyed election night.

The GOP nominees for president and U.S. Senate both won the state. And Republicans won 13 out of 18 Congressional seats.

But this year, the Republican candidates for governor and U.S. senate trailed in the polls by double-digits against the Democratic incumbents.

And a new map of Congressional districts from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court made several House races much friendlier to the Democrats. Ahead of Tuesday’s voting, forecasters gave Democrats and Republicans good odds of an even 9-9 split in Congress.

As election returns came in Tuesday evening, Democratic incumbents U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Tom Wolf were declared the winners relatively early. Several important congressional races remained too close to call into Tuesday evening.

But shortly after 11 p.m., cheers erupted at Boomerang, as Perry announced that his Democratic opponent had conceded.

By early Wednesday morning, The Associated Press called nine races for Republicans and nine for Democrats. In the interactive map below, you can see which Congressional candidates won — and by how much.

U.S. Senate

Republican Congressman Lou Barletta challenged Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., who was first elected in 2006.

U.S. House

This election, Republicans were mostly playing defense when it comes to Congressional seats in Pennsylvania. And Democrats targeted a number of seats for a pick-up. Here’s a look at some of the key ones. PA Post will be adding information about more races as the night goes on.

The candidates: Democrat George Scott, an Army veteran and Lutheran minister, challenged U.S. Rep. Scott Perry. Perry, a former state lawmaker, was first elected to Congress in 2012. Perry is an Iraq war veteran who was promoted to brigadier general in the Army National Guard in 2015.

Perry: “Look, we know the district fairly well, obviously, and we know how this is gonna come in. We we’re gonna (be) behind early on. But I think, as the night goes on it’s going to perform better and better for us.” (1/2)

The seat leaning toward Dems

PA-7

The candidates: Democrat Susan Wild, the former solicitor for Allentown city; Republican Marty Nothstein, a Lehigh County commissioner and an Olympic gold medalist for cycling; and Libertarian Tim Silfies. All three were running for an open seat, following the resignation of former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, a Republican.

The Associated Press called the race for Wild.

The district: Lehigh and Northampton counties, plus part of Monroe County

Jacqueline Larma / Associated Press

Susan Wild, Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, speaks to a supporter after casting her vote Tuesday Nov. 6, 2018, in Allentown, Pa. Wild is facing Republican Marty Nothstein for the seat held by Charlie Dent, who retired.

Jacqueline Larma / Associated Press

Marty Nothstein, Republican candidate in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, arrive at his polling station to vote Tuesday Nov. 6, 2018, in New Tripoli, Pa. Nothstein is facing Democrat Susan Wild for the seat held by Charlie Dent who retired.

“This campaign has always been about you,” Smucker told a crowd of supporters gathered Tuesday night at election party in Manheim, Lancaster County. “Not more government, not more Washington, not more empowering bureaucrats to make decisions for you. A vision of individual responsibly and personal freedom. That was our promise in 2016.”